Pakistan seek first U19 Asia Cup title as they face India in final

Pakistan will take on India in the final of the ACC Men’s U19 Asia Cup on Sunday, 21 December at the ICC Academy Ground in Dubai. The first ball of the final will be bowled at 9am local time.

Since the tournament’s inception in 1989, Pakistan – winners of the 2004 and 2006 ICC Men’s U19 World Cups are yet to claim the U19 Asia Cup title in its 11 editions.

In the ongoing eight-team event, Pakistan won two of their three games in Group ‘A’ and advanced to the final after defeating Bangladesh by eight wickets in the second semi-final on Friday, 19 December.

Pakistan will rely on their batting star Sameer Minhas, the team’s highest run-getter with 299 runs in four matches, including a century and a half-century. In the bowling department, right-arm pacer Abdul Subhan has been the most successful with 11 wickets from three matches, while left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Sayyam has claimed eight wickets so far.

Talking to PCB Digital ahead of the final, Farhan Yousaf said: “Our preparation has been very good and the morale in the camp is very high. The management has backed us strongly and we will try to come out victorious.

“Bangladesh proved to be a very good opponent and it was enjoyable to compete against them. The players performed really well. Our fielding unit has been outstanding, the batting performed well in the last match and the bowling has been consistent throughout the tournament. This collective effort has contributed to our strong results.

“The final is a big game and the players are very confident. We aim to carry forward the momentum and positivity from the last match, play aggressive cricket, give our 100 per cent and are hopeful of a result going in our team’s favour.”

15-member squad:

Farhan Yousaf (captain), Usman Khan (vice-captain), Abdul Subhan, Ahmed Hussain, Ali Hassan Baloch, Ali Raza, Daniyal Ali Khan, Hamza Zahoor (wk), Huzaifa Ahsan, Momin Qamar, Mohammad Huzaifa, Mohammad Sayyam, Mohammad Shayan (wk), Niqab Shafiq and Sameer Minhas